Voters Put Costs and Iran Ahead of Trump Agenda

About eight in 10 registered voters want the next Congress to make lowering the cost of living one of its top priorities, while roughly seven in 10 want lawmakers to focus on ending the war in Iran, according to a new AP-NORC poll. Fewer voters named investigating President Donald Trump or advancing his agenda as a top priority.

The poll found about four in 10 registered voters want investigations of the Trump administration among Congress’ highest priorities. About two in 10 want Congress to prioritize the Republican president’s agenda. Voters’ economic concerns stand apart from their priorities for political oversight or advancing the president’s program.

Costs and Congress’ priorities

About half of voters said Congress should reduce the budget deficit and find common ground between the parties. Roughly four in 10 wanted new laws regulating artificial intelligence to rank as a high priority. About three in 10 prioritized ending military aid to Israel.

Priorities varied among Democrats. About six in 10 said investigating the Trump administration should be one of Congress’ highest priorities, but it ranked behind lowering costs and ending the Iran conflict. Among Democrats who identified as supporters of democratic socialism, about three-quarters wanted investigations to be a top priority. Slightly less than half of Democrats who didn’t identify as democratic socialists said the same.

Democratic socialist voters were also more likely to want Congress to end military aid to Israel and less likely to prioritize finding common ground. Justin Campbell, a 31-year-old Democrat from Brookhaven, Mississippi, identified as a democratic socialist. “It feels a little cliche to just say roll back the past two years, but honestly, mostly just roll back the stuff he's done the past two years,” he said.

Campbell put his economic priorities in personal terms. “I'm not a millionaire and probably won't ever be. I prefer policy that helps me instead of someone I'll never be.”

Party agendas and voter priorities

House Democrats had started planning a 100-day agenda in case they win control of Congress in November. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Democratic priorities included making life more affordable and conducting extensive oversight of the Trump administration. Moderates in both parties were more likely than voters on their parties’ left and right wings to want Democrats and Republicans to find common ground, the poll found.

Arthur Brown, a 71-year-old Democrat in Magee, Mississippi, wanted Congress to strengthen the economy and lower prices. He felt less urgency about holding Trump accountable because two years would remain in Trump’s term, and said turning the economy around mattered more. “They should just focus on, you know, trying to tackle these problems,” Brown said. “Eventually down the road, justice will come.”

At least half of MAGA and non-MAGA Republicans wanted Congress to lower costs, end the Iran war and reduce the federal budget deficit. The poll found a sharper divide over the president’s agenda: about six in 10 MAGA Republicans wanted Congress to prioritize it, compared with about two in 10 Republicans who didn’t support MAGA.

Richard Longo, a 74-year-old Republican in Lake Forest, California, wanted Trump’s agenda pursued and was especially concerned about balancing the budget. “You're not going to balance the budget in one year, but you have to have a plan,” he said.

Lisa Ostlund, a 46-year-old MAGA supporter from Wayland, Massachusetts, also wanted Congress to prioritize Trump’s agenda. She didn’t support everything Trump did, but credited his policies with helping her find housing after struggling with homelessness for several years. “You got to care about your American people,” Ostlund said. “He definitely doesn't say it right, but you do have to put them first.”

The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,119 adults from Oct. 8-12 using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall was plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.